A/N: Yes, I don't ship GSR. No reviews devoted entirely to that fact, please. Just a short, Sara-centric, angsty fic. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nope. But if I owned it, the powers I would have...

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She twists meaningless words and friendly actions into so much more than platonic gestures. She tells herself, over and over, that yes, of course he feels the same way.

She is desperate for acceptance, but at the same time is subconsciously pushing him away. Perhaps this is why she chooses him to chase after.

She knows that even if he does feel for her what she feels for him, whatever that may be, he'll never act on it.

He's far too rational for that, of course. He would never jeopardize his job or the lab.

Or her. No, he wouldn't want to put her in that kind of situation.

But maybe romance isn't what she's after.

This thought has crossed her mind many, many times.

Maybe she's striving for that long-lost paternal figure that she never quite had. Her foster parents always attempted it, and a few came close, but they could never quite succeed.

As she sits at home in silence, her thoughts bounce back and forth. She just doesn't know.

Father, or lover?

She realizes how different the two are, but also their similarities, the most prominent of these being protectiveness and love.

She flops across the couch in an attempt to help herself come up with a final decision.

This is why she hates dating, and love in general.

She prefers science; always has.

With science, things are either true or not.

Black or white.

There is no gray.

She can study reactions and outcomes. She knows how everything will pan out just so.

With science, she knows all the answers.

But with love?

There is not only black, white, and gray, but a whole array of other colors, always morphing and changing. Nothing is ever definite, concrete.

With love, reactions and outcomes are purely guesswork.

She needs to make a decision.

This is the million-dollar, life-or-death question.

And for the first time in her life, Sara Sidle doesn't have the answer.

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End

Thoughts?

Review, please!